by Jennie Mc Donald

Created on: February 13, 2009

It is the aim of this piece to show that the Duchess of Malfi was produced in order to highlight some of the societal anxieties that existed in the seventeenth century. As we will see, these anxieties related to the gender hierarchical system and issues regarding sexuality, especially that of female sexuality. The anxieties related to the maintenance of sexual mores and male dominance in the face of an ever-increasing devious female sexuality, which once unleashed knows to the contemporary mind no bounds'.[1] Men, throughout this period continuously attempted to re-define the weakening boundaries of gender roles in order to contain what they saw as deviant sexual behaviour. Women, who attempted to assert themselves sexually, were seen to be threatening the predominantly patriarchal societies. As Grace Windsor noted, the negative images of female identity and sexuality transmitted by "The Duchess of Malfi" are created in a context of hyper-masculinity precipitated by fem!

ale rule and that; ultimately, fluid female identity must be subsumed by the fixed male subject'.[2] The Duchess as a widow was seen as an ungoverned woman who challenged societal norms, and the image of female dominance was an image of social disorder. All levels of society looked towards male figures as the ones who held supreme power. Conversely, the Duchess was only able to assert herself as under King James' rule Jacobean, widows were allowed a relative degree of liberation even though gender identities were restricted and women generally were expected to play a passive role.

The Duchess, in part at least, can be seen as a reflective image of Queen Elizabeth, a strong woman who retained her authority as a powerful figure. However, her downfall comes when she defiantly refuses to be ruled by her two brothers. Webster's portrayal of the Duchess can be understood in its historical context, as the play was written in 1613, which was a time of discontentment and dissatisfaction with the monarch. Many tired of King James' ineffectual rule and longed for the days of Elizabeth the previous monarch. As, although she was a woman, she ruled effectively and societal mores were maintained. This yearning could possibly have contributed to the reversal of gender roles which Webster created in the Duchess and Antonio; the portrayal of the Duchess as a mannish woman and Antonio as a womanish man. While the Duchess' character stresses her femininity, the Duchess herself, when talking of love, continuously

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